Fire guts Sandy home, fills neighborhood with smoke

SANDY — A fast-burning, smoky fire gutted a home near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon on Friday.

A neighbor spotted the fire at 9696 Quail Ridge Road just before 6:30 p.m. and called 911. When crews arrived, the back of the home was fully engulfed with flames that were visible from the front of the building, said Unified Fire Authority spokesman Chris Atkin.

The fire appears to have started in the back of the home, with winds pushing heavy smoke down into the neighborhood, Atkin said. Units from the Sandy Fire Department and UFA responded to the blaze.

No one was home when the fire started.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and no damage estimate was available Friday night, Atkin said. The flames collapsed part of the roof and moved through much of the home.

Crews worked to keep the fire from spreading to the nearby hillside.

"As the weather gets warmer and gets hotter, we're concerned about the spread to the actual bushes and wildfire danger," Atkin said.